Tuesday, April 03, 2012

Cover Reveal for THE FRIDAY SOCIETY (!!!!!!)

Today is a very exciting day for me, as it is for most authors. Today I get to reveal to you all (FINALLY) the cover for THE FRIDAY SOCIETY!

But first, I thought, you should know my game plan for this blog post.

1. I shall reveal the cover!
2. I shall reveal details of an amazing contest to win a one of a kind Steampunk necklace inspired by THE FRIDAY SOCIETY.
3. I shall write at length about what I adore about this cover and anything else that comes to my mind on the subject.

But first I want to thank some amazing blogs who are helping me in this glorious reveal:

The Story SirenThe Book Smugglers
These are two of my favourite YA book blogs, the ladies that run these sites are enthusiastic, know their stuff and have a great sense of humour - seriously go check them out. Immediately. No, WAIT! Wait, check out my cover first, THEN check them out. At any rate, I am totally honoured that they agreed to help me out today. Thank you, ladies, again so much.

That Cover Girl
You guys have heard me go on about this blog before. I just love how this lady dissects book covers, she's got a fantastic eye. And I am thrilled for my cover to be dissected by her (and a little nervous).

The Steampunk Scholar
I have also mentioned this fellow a few times, as well as linked to lists of his top Steampunk books and his post about Steampunk as an aesthetic. A true class act, and again, thrilled that my Steampunk cover is gracing his insanely fabulous Steampunk blog.

And finally . . . drum roll please . . .

THE COVER (and blurb) -

Be Your Own Hero . . .

Set in London at the
turn of the last century, the novel follows the stories of three
intelligent and very talented young women, all of whom are assistants to
very powerful men: Cora, lab assistant to a member of parliament;
Michiko, Japanese fight assistant to a martial arts guru; and Nellie, a
magician's assistant. The three young women’s lives become inexorably
intertwined after a chance meeting at a ball that ends with the
discovery of a murdered mystery man.

It’s up to these three, in their own charming but bold way, to solve
the murder—and the crimes they believe may be connected to it‐‐without
calling too much attention to themselves.

Told with Adrienne Kress's sharp wit and a great deal of
irreverence, this Steampunk whodunit introduces three unforgettable and
very ladylike--well, relatively ladylike--heroines poised for more
dangerous adventures.

Here's your chance to win an amazing one of a kind Steampunk THE FRIDAY SOCIETY inspired necklace designed by Steampunk jewelry maker Lady Lilleigh.

It's really very simple, leave a comment below and I shall choose the winner by April 13th (yes that is Friday the 13th :) ).

And now a little bit about the prize:

Suspended from a 24 inch antiqued brass chain, this tribute piece to The
Friday Society boasts elements inspired by the main characters: a 1
inch silver bullet for Cora; a black feather for Nellie; and brass
'throwing star' gears for Michiko. But the true appeal of this pendant
is what brings it all together, three alluring ivory ladies on a small
tarnished brass tone cameo. The cameo measures 0.75 inches long and the
steel pendant base measures just under 1.5 inches in diameter.

THE LONGWINDED BLOG POST

Okay. So. Can I just say. I love this cover.

I mean . . . seriously.

Love.

Possibly even lurv.

Is that going a bit too far?

No, I don't think so.

First I have to obviously thank Dial, Penguin for their amazing amazingness, and then I must signal out a few people. Obviously the first is my editor Nancy Conescu who is marvelously patient with all my neuroses. She is also the one who kept me up to speed on every step of the cover designing process. And the next are of course the photographer and designer of the cover: Michael Frost and Greg Stadnyk. Gentlemen, I bow in your general direction.

I was sent headshots of the models before they did the photoshoot - and I knew right then that Penguin was on the right track. The girls they chose to portray my girls are spot on. What I love best about them is that they look like real people. They are very pretty of course, but they look . . . real, like individuals with distinct personalities. Of this I rather approve.

And then I was sent the first relatively quick mock-up of the cover. It was shocking how quickly the turnaround happened from the photoshoot to the mock-up, and how they seemingly threw it together sans effort. Of course I say "seemingly" because it is clear a lot of work went into it. I saw it, and I was immediately all, "Can I share it can I share it!"

And Penguin was all, "Silly rabbit, we aren't done yet!"

"We aren't?"

And so a few weeks later I was sent another one. Small changes had been made that made big differences (an example I can offer you is they added the blueish glow to Cora's goggles). And again, I was all . . ."Can I can I?"

And they were all, "No."

Finally, and finally, we get what we have here today.

And I said, "Can I!"

And they said, "Yes." :)

And such love, my friends, such love.

That isn't the end of this blog post though, in case you thought you could move on now. No. Now we must dissect what Adrienne loves about this cover. Because the wonder of blog posting is that there is no word limit. So dangerous when it comes to me.

What I love about this cover:

1. The three girls. Let's meet them shall we? From left to right - Nellie Harrison (magician's assistant), Cora Bell (personal assistant/lab assistant to a member of Parliament), Michiko Takeda (fight assistant to a self defense guru).

I've already talked about what I like about how the girls look (though I should add I also adore their outfits . . . and weapons). What's also fantastic about them, is the way they are posing. They look tough. They look like they have agency, that they can take care of themselves. Which is good. Because they do and can. :)

2. The pinwheel effect. Okay, note to self, adding a pinwheel automatically makes stuff look awesome. It's subtle, but present. It both draws the eye into the middle of the page, and explodes out in fantastic fun times. It adds a wonderful sense of energy. Love it.

3. The London skyline. Because it's the London skyline.

4. The grainy effect. Look up close, the picture has been made to look slightly weathered. Cool? Yes, yes it is.

5. The font(s). Font, to me, is often far more important than any other element on a cover. It can make the difference between whether a cover is seen as professional or not. And it can dictate the intended audience for the book. I love both the fonts on this cover. I love the title, I love how strong it looks, how cool, both contemporary and classic. And I love my name. I mean, I love seeing my name on a cover of a book in any font really (it's kind of overwhelming every time when you do see it - and maybe just maybe I got choked up seeing it on this cover for the first time), but this font is also just plain cool. I don't know why, but I love that the A isn't pointy. Yeah, I know, but I do.

6. The border. Now I have had the honour of being bordered by many a great object. With ALEX we had octopus tentacles. TIMOTHY we had a dragon:

And this time, well this time we get a supremely kick-ass Steampunk mechanical piece.

That border might be just about my favourite part of the cover. Not quite my fav, we'll get to that at 7. But still. Yes it is all kinds of Steampunk amazing, but what I love about it the most is that it really looks mechanical, like a real machine where one piece influences the other, and not just like there are some random gears hanging out together 'cause, you know, they're gears and they've got that in common. I also love how the border makes the whole cover have a kind of movie poster vibe. And as a fan of movies, you can understand why this would make me happy.

Lastly I love the accidental continuity. That I get to be border girl! All my books have borders (despite being published by different publishers and being different genres), and I love borders, and I love my books. So it's like such a love fest man.

7. And my number 1 (which I guess is number 7 for some reason) thing I love about this cover is . . . wait for it . . .

This:

??

This is a screw.

There are four of them, one in each corner of the cover. Making the cover look like it's been screwed onto the book. It might not be grand, it might hardly be noticeable at first glance, but it's this kind of small detail I absolutely adore. It demonstrates care, and I think wit as well. The cherry on top of the sundae.

So there you go. I've likely gone on long enough. But, guys, seriously, I am beyond excited. Every step along the way makes this all so much more real. And it's been a while since I've had the pleasure of doing a cover reveal, and it's all kind of an emotional mess for me. I am so excited, so grateful, and so . . . okay I'll be honest . . . terrified (in a good way of course :) ).

I remember blogging about the book deal a year and a half ago. And now it has a cover. That's pretty darn cool. Pretty darn cool indeed.

With all its intriguing elements, the cover has great texture. It looks like I'd be holding an old leather tome. A deceptively tactile experience.

Could I reprint your cover and comments about what you love about it at canlitforlittlecanadians.blogspot.ca? I'd like to share this with my readers who are mostly teachers and school librarians, I think.

Love the cover and can't wait to read it! There can never be too many books with kick-a$$ female characters, and The Friday Society looks like it will live up to the task. The cover does look like a movie poster, but at the same time, it has a "good old book" vibe. That's some kind of awesome.

I haven't read a ton of Steampunk as I am new to the genre, but so far I am in love with it. It really touches that kick butt part of the woman in me. And this book, with different point of view and women will be even easier to go with as I am sure we will each find a character to relate to. Thanks for the awesome giveaway!

This is fantastic! :D Grace definitely sent me a link to this saying 'Guys! We look fierce here!' Haha! When Grace is back in Canada, she, Kate and I will definitely have to take photos dressed up and posed a la Friday Society/...Difference Engineers, or something :)Hope you're well! Can't wait to read the book :3PS. LOVED 'Alex and the Ironic Gentleman' - such a fun read :) I can't wait to get my hands on 'Timothy and the Dragon's Gate' :3

The cover is awesome. The necklace however is amazing. I love the symbolism to it, never seen anything like it! Totally shows the kick butt attitude!! Thanks for the giveaway and sharing the cover. Can't wait to read it!!delivery.RN at gmail dot com

You may not remember me, but we've corresponded at length before, and while I came off mean and spiteful, which I am sorry for, I was listening, and while I still fight excessive negativity, I'm in a better place now.

Well, I'm in the blogosphere now, still plugging away on my new book, and trying to stay positive, despite a rough start to the year.

Seeing writers I admire and respect move ahead on their path makes it easier to move forward on the slow crawl through my own.

I'm so glad this cover reflects your book.

Like you, font choice and typography is very important to me, because it does affect how professional the book comes off, and you definitely have every right to be proud of how it all shaped up.

I'm very big on details, especially in things that I have a hand in, often to the point of overwhelming my old critique group, but if you're going to commit months or even years of your time on something, you don't want it looking half-baked.